Developing pathways for female coaches

Football West hosted its first female-only Asian Football Confederation C-Licence coaching course, free for all participants through assistance from the newly-developed Female Football Fund.

The Fund will support the development of female football in Western Australia through activities designed to increase and sustain the number of registered females, while developing their technical ability.

18 women took part in the course, which enables participants to understand specific aspects of match analysis, planning, design and conducting training sessions appropriate for specific age groups in holistic environments.

The course ensures clear education as it brings coaches together in technical discussions through technical and practical modules which give participants the opportunity to understand new planning and training structures.

Participants, who must be over the age of 18, attended the sessions every Monday and Wednesday over the past month, with Lynwood Senior High School teacher and Gosnells Women coach Ann Gourley instructing the course with assistance from Football West Technical Manager Cris Ola and Development Officer Garry Church.

Ola said interest in women’s football is growing in all aspects of the game.

“As we see an increase in female players in WA, we are also seeing a rise in the number of women opting to fill coaching and refereeing roles at a higher level,” he said.

“We are committed to focusing our attention on assisting females in WA through development pathways in coaching roles and perhaps to someday run coaching courses themselves.”

Head of Development and former Perth Glory Women coach Jamie Harnwell said the recent rise in women’s football participation is bringing more attention to the need for female officials.

“I would love to see more female coaches taking up roles in the NPL and the A-League in coming years,” he said.

“This course has been beneficial in creating an opportunity for females to participate in a Youth C-Licence course and grow their skills in a positive environment specific to their abilities.

“With the Matildas coming to Perth in March, we are seeing more interest than ever in the women’s game and it’s exciting to see this reflect not only on player participation but all aspects of the game.”